apexart Open Call

apexart’s Open Calls are opportunities for artists, curators, and other professionals to turn their curatorial idea into an apexart exhibition, combined with inviting apexart’s international community to collectively determine our programming through an online jury process. Winning proposals become part of apexart’s next exhibition season and receive funding and staff support. apexart is not a granting organization-all exhibitions are part of apexart’s programming.

A diverse and changing international jury of more than 400 people in 70 countries participate in a crowdsourced voting process that takes place every November (for NYC Open Call proposals) and March (for International Open Call proposals). Projects are judged by the strength of the exhibition idea and the organizer’s ability to communicate it, not by social connections, past accomplishments, or personality.

After the last vote is cast, the highest-ranked proposals are contacted and receive funding and production support to become apexart exhibitions in NYC and around the world.

apexart has increased the budget substantially to $10,000 for each Open Call exhibition and related programming. Each curator/organizer must work within apexart’s budget to cover expenses including curator travel, artwork shipping, artist and public program participant honorariums, equipment, installation, and venue fees with $8,000 of the budget. Of the $10,000, the curator/organizer receives up to a $2,000 honorarium for coordinating the project and writing the exhibition brochure essay. For exhibitions outside NYC, apexart will match up to $1,000 for a location rental if necessary.

apexart covers costs for approved insurance, advertising, publicity, documentation (NYC exhibitions only), the design, printing, and mailing of the exhibition brochure, and the local opening reception. apexart oversees and handles most of the exhibition logistics, including loan agreements and shipping. The apexart team works closely with guest curators/organizers to turn their ideas into apexart exhibitions.

Application Instructions

When the submission forms are live, you can submit a 500-word proposal describing a focused, idea-driven, and original group exhibition.

Anyone, from anywhere can submit. There are no fees involved at any level. Creative people who have interesting exhibition ideas, trained and student curators, artists, writers, and creative individuals, regardless of experience level, background, or location can apply.

» Every February we accept proposals for exhibitions taking place anywhere in the world, except for NYC. The next proposal period is February 1 - March 1, 2021 for apexart’s 2021-22 program season.

» Every October we accept proposals for exhibitions in our NYC space. The next proposal period is October 1 - 31, 2021 for apexart’s 2022-23 Exhibition Season.

For exhibitions proposed outside NYC (February Open Call), submitters must select a geographic location where they have visited, to ensure they have a sense of the location logistics and potential challenges of organizing an exhibition there. The specific exhibition venue can be determined following selection by apexart’s jury.

Submissions are accepted only through an online form which will be posted to this website during the above mentioned submission periods. To see the preview of the upcoming form, click here.